Travis d’Arnaud leads Mets past Padres, 5-4

SAN DIEGO –The All-Star break didn’t slow down Travis d’Arnaud and the Mets.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Mets' Travis d'Arnaud watches his RBI single against the Padres during the ninth inning Friday in San Diego.

The revitalized catcher slapped a go-ahead RBI single in the ninth inning to propel the Mets to a 5-4 win over the Padres on Friday night at PETCO Park. The Mets (46-50) have now won nine of their last 11 games and four straight.

“That’s big,” d’Arnaud said. “We had good momentum when the All-Star break happened. We won tonight and we’re going to keep it going.”

The Mets entered the second half on a high note as they won eight of their final 10 games before the All-Star break, which inspired Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson to say before the game he believes the Mets can challenge for a playoff spot.

Alderson said how the team fares in this 10-game road trip, which also features series against the Mariners and Brewers, will influence the team’s direction at the trade deadline. The Mets are currently seven games behind Atlanta in the NL East.

“Sometimes you gotta believe right?” Alderson said. “This is a time.”

With the score tied at 4-all with two outs and a runner on in the ninth, Joaquin Benoit intentionally walked Lucas Duda to set up a righty-righty matchup with d’Arnaud.

On a 3-2 pitch, d’Arnaud went the other way with a single through the hole between first and second to give the Mets the lead, clapping as he trotted to first. Closer Jenrry Mejia secured his 11th save by working around a two-out single.

“The break helped us, helped some guys get some rest,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “But you want to get off to a good start. Hopefully we’re closing in on getting back in this thing a little bit and you don’t want to get off to a slow start on the road.”

As the Mets finished the first half playing what might have been their best stretch of baseball, perhaps the most positive development was the resurgence of d’Arnaud.

With d’Arnaud hitting just .180 in early June, the Mets demoted him to Class AAA Las Vegas to help him find his swing and prevent his confidence from taking a hit.

Since returning June 24, d’Arnaud is hitting .318 since (21-for-66), as he went 3-for-5 in Friday’s game with two RBI, driving in the Mets first and final run.

“I’m not thinking about mechanics anymore,” d’Arnaud said. “I’m thinking about the ball, 90 miles an hour coming at me.”

The Mets jumped on Ian Kennedy early, tallying three runs with two outs in the first. D’Arnaud singled to plate Granderson, who scored two runs, and Juan Lagares’ bloop single scored two to put the Mets ahead, 3-0.

The hot hitting continued the team’s strong offensive performances from before the break. In that 10-game home stand against Texas, Atlanta and Miami the Mets averaged 5.5 runs per game, blasting 40 extra-base hits, including 11 homers.

“I really think it meant a lot,” Collins said of the early runs. “I think it showed the guys they’re still in that zone right now.”

The game was tied heading to the ninth as the Padres rallied in the fifth against Bartolo Colon, who is battling an upset stomach. Colon allowed four runs on five hits in five innings, his shortest outing since May 1.

With the Mets leading 4-0, Colon allowed the first four batters to reach, with Chris Nelson and Alexi Amarista each delivering RBI singles to slice the lead to 4-2. With two outs, Colon yielded a two-run single to Chase Headley that tied the game at 4-all.

In his last four outings, Colon is now 0-3 with a 5.88 ERA, and his struggles come while he is reported to be on the trade block. Alderson said before the game he would trade a veteran even if the Mets were in the race, although he’d prefer not to.

“It wouldn’t be our first choice but it’s possible,” Alderson said. “As long as we felt we had adequate or better replacements for that player.”

Travis d’Arnaud leads Mets past Padres, 5-4

The Mets' Travis d'Arnaud watches his RBI single against the Padres during the ninth inning Friday in San Diego.

By Matt Ehalt

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

SAN DIEGO –The All-Star break didn’t slow down Travis d’Arnaud and the Mets.

The revitalized catcher slapped a go-ahead RBI single in the ninth inning to propel the Mets to a 5-4 win over the Padres on Friday night at PETCO Park. The Mets (46-50) have now won nine of their last 11 games and four straight.

“That’s big,” d’Arnaud said. “We had good momentum when the All-Star break happened. We won tonight and we’re going to keep it going.”

The Mets entered the second half on a high note as they won eight of their final 10 games before the All-Star break, which inspired Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson to say before the game he believes the Mets can challenge for a playoff spot.

Alderson said how the team fares in this 10-game road trip, which also features series against the Mariners and Brewers, will influence the team’s direction at the trade deadline. The Mets are currently seven games behind Atlanta in the NL East.

“Sometimes you gotta believe right?” Alderson said. “This is a time.”

With the score tied at 4-all with two outs and a runner on in the ninth, Joaquin Benoit intentionally walked Lucas Duda to set up a righty-righty matchup with d’Arnaud.

On a 3-2 pitch, d’Arnaud went the other way with a single through the hole between first and second to give the Mets the lead, clapping as he trotted to first. Closer Jenrry Mejia secured his 11th save by working around a two-out single.

“The break helped us, helped some guys get some rest,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “But you want to get off to a good start. Hopefully we’re closing in on getting back in this thing a little bit and you don’t want to get off to a slow start on the road.”

As the Mets finished the first half playing what might have been their best stretch of baseball, perhaps the most positive development was the resurgence of d’Arnaud.

With d’Arnaud hitting just .180 in early June, the Mets demoted him to Class AAA Las Vegas to help him find his swing and prevent his confidence from taking a hit.

Since returning June 24, d’Arnaud is hitting .318 since (21-for-66), as he went 3-for-5 in Friday’s game with two RBI, driving in the Mets first and final run.

“I’m not thinking about mechanics anymore,” d’Arnaud said. “I’m thinking about the ball, 90 miles an hour coming at me.”

The Mets jumped on Ian Kennedy early, tallying three runs with two outs in the first. D’Arnaud singled to plate Granderson, who scored two runs, and Juan Lagares’ bloop single scored two to put the Mets ahead, 3-0.

The hot hitting continued the team’s strong offensive performances from before the break. In that 10-game home stand against Texas, Atlanta and Miami the Mets averaged 5.5 runs per game, blasting 40 extra-base hits, including 11 homers.

“I really think it meant a lot,” Collins said of the early runs. “I think it showed the guys they’re still in that zone right now.”

The game was tied heading to the ninth as the Padres rallied in the fifth against Bartolo Colon, who is battling an upset stomach. Colon allowed four runs on five hits in five innings, his shortest outing since May 1.

With the Mets leading 4-0, Colon allowed the first four batters to reach, with Chris Nelson and Alexi Amarista each delivering RBI singles to slice the lead to 4-2. With two outs, Colon yielded a two-run single to Chase Headley that tied the game at 4-all.

In his last four outings, Colon is now 0-3 with a 5.88 ERA, and his struggles come while he is reported to be on the trade block. Alderson said before the game he would trade a veteran even if the Mets were in the race, although he’d prefer not to.

“It wouldn’t be our first choice but it’s possible,” Alderson said. “As long as we felt we had adequate or better replacements for that player.”